Little Li was quite afraid that Tian Miao fit a certain stereotype of charlatans—the kind where good predictions never come true, but bad ones always do.

"If this object turns black and grows hot, it means it has sensed Yin Sha Qi, indicating the approach of a Ba. At that time, I will also sense it."

Tian Miao took out a white jade pendant and spoke solemnly. She handed the pendant to Li Mo.

The group searched for clues inside the ancient underground palace. Tian Miao seemed particularly interested in the age-old structure and took the lead, venturing ahead.

Since her fate showed no signs of impending danger, Li Mo didn’t suggest the three of them stick together.

And so, Li Mo held a pearl in one hand and Ying Bing’s delicate, icy fingers in the other, carefully scouring the underground palace.

At one point, he tried releasing his Yi Soul to expand his search range. Unfortunately, the underground palace seemed to distort the Yi Soul’s perception. What would normally allow him to survey a hundred zhang in an instant was now limited to just a few zhang around him.

It was more efficient to rely on his eyes.

As the two walked through the underground palace, Little Li couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just like visiting a haunted house or an escape room with classmates in his past life.

The reason Little Li was considered a genius was because he had many bold ideas—so bold, in fact, that his courage was always high. Every time he was dragged along for such activities, he found them utterly dull.

Especially when he saw couples huddling together, with the girls shrieking and burying themselves in the boys’ arms.

But now...

He suddenly understood the appeal.

"Ying Bing!"

Li Mo abruptly turned around with a serious expression, clutching the white jade pendant in his arms. "The pendant... it feels hot."

"?"

Hearing this, Ying Bing frowned and looked intently into the distance, only to see a few statues standing there.

Their style was rather ancient, somewhat resembling the witch spirit statues she had seen in the Demon Summoning Cult back in the Southern Border.

Where was the Ba?

But Little Li sounded so earnest.

Ying Bing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her grip on his hand tightened.

"Maybe... maybe it’s not a Ba..."

Li Mo suddenly spoke in a horrified tone. "Is it possible... it’s a vengeful spirit?! One that’s been trapped in this tomb for thousands of years, never seeing the light of day... a ghost?"

"?"

Ying Bing’s face remained cold and composed as she reached for her sword, but then she paused, puzzled.

Yin Sha Qi was a type of Yin energy.

If something like that existed, she should have sensed it first.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the white jade pendant in Li Mo’s hand—the sliver visible between his fingers was still pure white.

The pendant hadn’t changed color.

Unless...

Ying Bing stared intently at Li Mo. When Little Li met her ice-mirror-like gaze, his first reaction was to glance to the left—something he always did when he was guilty.

"...I saw it too."

"Huh?"

Li Mo, who had been dead serious, was taken aback.

Shouldn’t Ying Bing have pressed close to him in fear, asking nervously where the ghost was?

Things weren’t going as he’d expected!

"You... really saw it?"

"Mm. Really. And it’s getting closer." Ying Bing’s expression was solemn.

"!"

Little Li leaned back slightly.

He used to be fearless because, in his past life, he was a staunch materialist. But the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were nothing like his old world. If Ba existed, then ghosts weren’t out of the question...

Besides, Ying Bing’s cold demeanor and slightly parted lips gave off an unmistakable "don’t say I didn’t warn you" vibe.

Right—she had the Body of the Lunar Phoenix, making her highly sensitive to Yin energy. Could it be...?

"It’s here."

Ying Bing suddenly looked behind Li Mo!

Li Mo shuddered and spun around, shielding Ying Bing behind him, pressing her tightly against his back as he raised his weapon.

But the spot was empty—just a few more ancient Demon Summoning Cult-style statues.

"There’s nothing there..."

"Maybe... I was mistaken."

"?"

Ying Bing’s face was buried against his shoulder. She had intended to tease him back after realizing he was trying to scare her, then give him a knowing look to make him behave.

But before she could muster that smirk, her cheek was already pressed against Li Mo’s shoulder. Suddenly, his foolish expression didn’t seem so funny anymore.

"You were mistaken?"

Li Mo pondered for a moment before realizing—this was the mischievous Ying Bing at work. But he had no proof.

Just as he was about to speak, a shout came from the direction Tian Miao had gone.

"I found something! Come take a look!"

"Coming!"

Li Mo called back. The interruption gave Ying Bing the perfect chance to evade further questioning.

Mischievous Ying Bing: Mission accomplished.

However, shortly after the two left—

Creak... creak...

A faint sound came from the statues in the darkness, their surfaces flaking away bit by bit.

One of them had its stone shell crumble around its eyes, revealing a pair of eerie, bloodthirsty green lights.

---

Li Mo and Ying Bing quickly found Tian Miao, who was standing before a mural.

The mural was painted with Kirin Smoke Ink, its colors still vibrant after all these years, making the depicted scenes appear lifelike.

The first mural showed a massive rift splitting the heavens and earth, floods raging, the sun extinguished, and stars falling—a scene of apocalyptic destruction.

"This depicts the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands! This is a major discovery."

"Our Nine Heavens and Ten Lands may have once faced catastrophic collapse, even to the brink of annihilation."

Tian Miao’s voice, though calm, couldn’t hide her excitement.

This was a piece of lost history, unrecorded even in the Yantian Sect’s archives.

Li Mo and Ying Bing exchanged glances, their expressions grave.

The Jade Phoenix Divine.

They had seen similar scenes within it.

Powerful beings had departed the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands one after another, taking with them the "Dao" they had refined, leaving the world riddled with gaps.

Thus, many primordial beings sacrificed themselves to mend the Dao—like the Primordial Golden Crow.

Meanwhile, the master of the Jade Phoenix Divine, the Nine-Colored Primordial Phoenix, traveled the land, preserving the sparks of countless lives.

"Does this mural depict what happened after that?"

"Did the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands ultimately collapse?"

The implications were staggering. Li Mo took a deep breath.

Yet, the world now stood intact.

Clearly, the mural wasn’t finished.

Holding the glowing pearl aloft, the three searched nearby and soon found another mural.

The second one depicted nine strangely dressed figures descending from the rift in the sky, surrounded by countless kneeling creatures paying homage.

Among the nine, a woman stood at the forefront.

She wore radiant feathered robes, exuding an aura of serene compassion, her expression gentle and benevolent.

"!"

That face—Li Mo had seen it before in the Jade Phoenix Divine. That uniquely tender, sorrowful grace could belong to no one else.

Her features seemed to sharpen now, gradually overlapping with the crumbling statue in the Ying family’s ancestral hall.

"Is she... the Nine-Colored Primordial Phoenix?"

"At the same time... he was also an ancestor of the Ying family?!"

Li Mo's scalp prickled as a bolt of shock flashed through his mind.

The small hand of Ying Bing, held in his palm, suddenly curled inward—clearly, her heart was also roiling with overwhelming turmoil.

...

Dear audience members, your support through tips would be much appreciated. Ehehe.